Rockford Mayor Warns of Budget Threats from Funding Cuts

McNamara highlights housing gains and crime drop, but says state and federal cuts to local funding pose major challenges.

Apr. 16, 2026 at 9:51pm

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A serene, cinematic painting of a municipal building in Rockford, Illinois, bathed in warm, golden sunlight with deep shadows, conveying a sense of quiet contemplation about the city's budgetary concerns.The financial challenges facing Rockford's city government cast a long shadow over the community's civic institutions.Rockford Today

In his annual State of the City address, Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara detailed the city's successes over the past year, including a booming housing market and a continued drop in violent crime. However, he also raised concerns about funding cuts from federal and state governments, specifically highlighting issues with the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF).

Why it matters

The LGDF is designed to return 10% of state income taxes to local governments, but this percentage has been consistently cut since 2012 by both Republican and Democratic legislators. According to McNamara, these reductions have caused Rockford to miss out on more than $144 million in total funding since 2012, posing a significant challenge to the city's budget.

The details

Mayor McNamara pointed to current legislative proposals that would further reduce the LGDF, bringing the percentage from 6.47% down to 6.28%. He stated that this proposed cut would mean another $800,000 loss for Rockford's budget, at the same time the city is facing unfunded mandates from the state.

  • Mayor McNamara delivered his annual State of the City address this morning at the Nordlof Center.
  • The budget currently before legislators proposes bringing the LGDF percentage from 6.47% down to 6.28%.

The players

Tom McNamara

The mayor of Rockford, Illinois, who delivered the annual State of the City address and raised concerns about funding cuts threatening the city's budget.

Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF)

A fund designed to return 10% of state income taxes to local governments, but the percentage has been consistently cut since 2012 by both Republican and Democratic legislators.

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What they’re saying

“This year's budget that is in front of legislators right now brings down the LGDF, Local Government Distributive Fund, percentage from 6.47 down to 6.28. So people say, Tom, that's not a big deal. That's another $800,000 that they want to cut from our budget at the same time they continue to put unfunded mandates on us and then have the gall to say, well you should reduce property taxes. Well, here's a bit of a news flash: give us our money back, stop the unfunded mandates, and we'll easily reduce property taxes.”

— Tom McNamara, Mayor of Rockford

What’s next

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The takeaway

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